Kathmandu, Sept 19 (HS): Maoist party chairperson Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ on Friday asserted that Nepal could have averted the recent Gen Z movement had the country adopted a system of directly elected presidency.

Speaking at a programme organised on Constitution Day at the party headquarters, Prachanda recalled that the current circumstances arose because the 2015 Constitution drafting process failed to incorporate provisions for a directly elected executive. He argued that political stability requires a directly elected head of state. Calling it unfortunate that no consensus could be reached at that time, he claimed the absence of such an arrangement paved the way for the Gen Z uprising.

Prachanda, who addressed his supporters and cadres at the party headquarters that had been damaged in the aftermath of the movement, further stated that large-scale losses could have been avoided if a directly elected governance model had been adopted.

He also claimed credit for safeguarding the Constitution during the crisis. According to him, had he not rushed to the President’s Office that night and extended support to the head of state, the country might have been left without a Constitution.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar